Mat weavers said no access to credit. Rice traders closing down-low prices,costly power #namakkunaame https://t.co/CFnXy1c8GX

Continuing his field-level economic interactions during the third phase of Namakku Naame in late October 2015, DMK Treasurer M. K. Stalin engaged with small-scale artisans and agro-industrialists in Tiruvannamalai district. Meeting the skilled korai mat weavers of Vandavasi, Stalin listened to their struggles regarding the lack of institutional bank credit, rising raw grass costs, and competition from cheap synthetic plastic imports. The artisans explained that without cooperative credit subsidies or working capital, their traditional craft faced imminent extinction. Subsequently, Stalin met with owners of modern rice mills and grain traders in the Arani paddy cluster. The entrepreneurs reported that dozens of processing mills had shut down due to unremunerative crop pricing, steep industrial electricity tariff hikes, and severe commercial power cuts under AIADMK rule. Stalin condemned the state government for crippling rural enterprise through regressive utility charges and bureaucratic indifference. He promised that an incoming DMK government would introduce special low-interest credit schemes for mat weavers, rationalize industrial power tariffs, and extend targeted fiscal assistance to revitalize agro-processing enterprises and traditional craft artisans who sustain rural manufacturing and family livelihoods throughout Tamil Nadu.